THE Thames Guardian AND MINING RECORD. TUESDAY, APRIL 30, 1872.

Thames Guardian and Mining Record, Volume I, Issue 174, 30 April 1872, Page 2

THE Thames Guardian AND MINING RECORD. TUESDAY , APRIL 30, 1872.

We thought the Kauaeranga Board had made it all right with the Superintendent, and that it was only the other Board that was in difficulties about the subsidy. It would appear, however, from a perusal of the report of the proceedings at last night’s meeting of the former body, that there is a sum of £f)00 which was expected but has not come to hand. It appears also that the Kauaeranga Board is “ hard up,” is £4OO in debt, and that its members are personally responsible for an overdraft at the bank. This is not a very satisfactory state of things, and the state of the roadways and footpaths is such as to demand immediate attention. Several deputations waited upon the Board and stated their grievances, and received a reply to the effect that the Board had got no money, but would do what it could to get in outstanding rates, and to “ dun ” the Superintendent about the subsidy. They further resolved to consult their lejgal adviser, Mr Tyler, as to the power of the Board to anticipate next year’s rates in the same way that their predecessors mortgaged their expectations. It seems to be the fate of New Zealand that its General Government has to borrow from the England, that the Provincial Governments have to borrow from the General Government, and the local Boards again have to raise the wind by borrowing on the expected income of their successors. Under the circumstances, however, we think the lvauacranga Board will he quite justified in hypothecating future rates, if they have the power, considering the urgent necessity of the case. The roads will soon be impassable unless they arc attended to, and money which is to be extracted from the Provincial Treasury seems very difficult to get, and will be soon expended. Indeed, the few paltry hundreds the Thames Boards are to get—supposing they do get them—will do very little ; still, on the principle that half a loaf is better than no bread, the money will be a God-send to the locality. The amount of rates collected is very small, and even if all ratepayers in nrrear should pay up, which is very doubtful, the funds in hand are altogether inadequate to the requirements of the place. This Board, as well as its neighbour on this side of the Karaka, having made itself personally responsible for a considerable overdraft, has done as much as can reasonably be expected in that way. We do think that his Honor the Superintendent should do what he can to further the views of our local Boards. Their position is not a pleasant one, and in order to further the interests of the district, they have taken a good deal of “ snubbing ” at the hands of his Honor, which we believe a sense of duty alone has caused them to incur. We were under the impression that the Boards and the Superintendent were now on quite affectionate terms with each other, and if this should bo the case, and if it is within the ability, will, and pleasure of his Honor to let the Board have the balance of the money due, we hope on this occasion that he will bear in mind the old saying that “ he gives twice who gives quickly,”for it is especially applicable in the present case. If it should turn out that the money has not been sent because it is not in the coffers of the Government, it would be just as well for his Honor to let the Board know the melancholy fact. It would be well, at all events, to have the question definitely settled as soon as possible. The health and safety of the public, to say nothing of their comfort or convenience, imperatively demand that something should be done for the streets in Grahamstown and Shortland. At the present time, after a day’s rain, the greater part of the low-lying portion of the townships

is under water, and men, women, and children have to wade through mud and water, or be left prisoners inside their houses. When a dry day succeeds, the “ debris” is pestilence and disease. A-oioteicif warning has already been sounded by one of the leading medical men of the frequency of typhoid fever in the neighbourhood of Amystreet; and, with an increasing population, the liability to this terrible danger will inevitably increase. The local Boards are doing what their small means enable them to do to improve the drainage in this and similar pestiferous localities ; but they must have more funds at their disposal, or the Government must take the matter in hand, before the sanitary evils under which the Thames now suffers are remedied. The health of the inhabitants is, or ought to be, the first consideration in any community, and the present state of the streets and drains here is such as to actually invite disease. Winter is rapidly approaching, and, before it finally sets in, as much as possible should be done in the direction we have pointed out.